The Earthquake Devastation
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: A violent earthquake rocks southern California. The five are trapped in three different locations with no way of knowing if the others are alive or even if they are going to survive themselves.
1. Leonard and Penny: Window or Couch?

**I was watching "The Dumpling Paradox," today, and I started thinking about earthquakes, so I researched them and decided to write this story.**

"This is so weird," Penny said. "We get to spend the night in your room without Sheldon interrupting us!"

"Mmmm." Leonard yawned, rolling over to face her. "So much more pleasant this way."

"Because my stuffed animals can't stare at you here?" she joked.

"That is a slight bonus," he said. She grinned and curled up against him. "Where did he go again?"

"Raj took him to the comic book store." He kissed her forehead. "Why are we talking about Sheldon?"

She laughed. "Because I said how nice it was to be able to have sex without him knocking on the door telling us to keep it down."

"Ah, right." He slid his arms around her. "It _is_ nice, isn't it?"

They both began to drift off to sleep. It was a nice, clear night, and the stars were brighter than usual for the city. Feeling Penny relax against him, Leonard found himself drifting off to sleep.

He wasn't sure how long they had been lying there when he felt a slight rumbling. Thinking that Penny was having her typical pre-sleep twitches, he tried to ignore it, but then realized that the shaking was intensifying, and that it was not restricted to the woman beside him-the entire room was shuddering! He raised his head in confusion.

"What's that?" Penny whispered, sitting up and looking around.

He could barely see her in the dim light. "I think it's…" the shaking intensified. "Earthquake!" He jumped out of bed and pulled his jeans on, reaching for his shirt with his other hand.

She reached for her shirt; putting it on in such haste neither of them realized it was inside out and backwards. "Come on," she said, jumping into her shorts. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him toward the door. He was in a daze, not believing that this was happening. The entire building was shaking, and as they entered the living room, he heard an earsplitting crash from above. Pieces of the ceiling began to rain down on them, and one struck Penny on the shoulder as she reached the door and pulled on it. Nothing. Leonard rammed his shoulder into it, and still it didn't budge. He tried again, and the pain that shot through his arm was in vain; the door still didn't move.

"It's blocked!" Penny wailed, clawing at the door. Her fingers began to bleed, but that didn't stop her.

"Stop that," Leonard said, getting between her and the door. "That's not going to help!" He was yelling at her, his voice strained. The rumbling continued.

Penny seemed to realize that trying to scratch her way through the door would do nothing. She spun around and headed in the opposite direction, the falling pieces of ceiling causing her to stumble as she moved about.

"What are you doing?" Leonard asked, the fear escalating when he saw her grab the cushion off his chair and head for the window.

"We need to get out of here!" she said.

"No! Penny!" She always got irrational when she was afraid.

"Come on!" She shouted. "We're not that high up!"

"Penny, that's suicidal!" He had to stop her!

"Leonard, please!" She begged, coming back over to him and grabbing his arm. Tears were flowing freely down her face. "We'll die if we _stay here_!" She turned back, clutching the cushion to her chest. "Come _on!_"

Leonard had seen the fear in her eyes, and he knew that she was perfectly capable of plunging out the window in the belief that she was saving herself. She was panicking, and he couldn't blame her-they were in a pretty bad situation. Was this how it was going to end-having to choose to die from a four story plunge or being crushed inside a collapsed apartment building? Penny clearly thought the window was the better option, but she wasn't known for good split-second decisions.

He couldn't let her die that way-if they stayed in the building they'd have a chance-a slim chance, to be sure, but a bigger chance that falling four stories with only a cushion as protection. As she turned, he pushed her, and she fell facedown onto the couch. He followed her down, the rubble raining on them. He pulled the cushion from her hands and put it over their heads to shield them from the wreckage that was falling. One of Penny's fumbling hands found his and gripped it tightly as they heard more crashing from above. Leonard's back was being pummeled with debris, but at least Penny was safe beneath him, shielded from the missiles.

They were trapped on the fourth floor of an old apartment building during a violent earthquake. Their chances of survival were slim, but aside from jumping from the window to a horrible death, they had no other option.

**For those of you waiting for more of "The Equine Expansion" or "The Camaraderie Support" I'm working on them. I just don't want to post crap, so I need to make sure it's decent stuff before I post it. Oh, and I'm going to follow all five characters here, so the name of the chapter is who I'm going to focus it on.**


	2. Sheldon and Stuart: Employee Bathroom

**Thanks to those who reviewed! Here's chapter two...**

**This is a good place for Sheldon to be trapped, I figure...**

**Oh, and I forgot to post a disclaimer last chapter, so here it is! I don't own a single thing.**

"So Sheldon," Stuart asked, coming over to where the physicist was sitting on the floor. "Have you decided on which one you want?"

Sheldon sighed. "No." He held both of the robots up. "There are _some_ advantages of having Leonard and Penny fight; they buy me whatever I want, as long as I go home with them."

"Yeah, well…do you think you could decide?" Stuart asked hesitantly. "Because I was supposed to close a half an hour ago."

Looking up, Sheldon seemed to finally realize that he and Stuart were the only ones in the comic book store, and he knew that when Captain Sweatpants beat you out of there, you were _late_ getting home! "Oh, I see that," Sheldon glanced at his watch. "It's cold outside. Could you take me home?"

Stuart gave an exasperated sigh. "Can't you walk?" Sheldon cocked his head. "Yeah, look who I'm talking to. Sure I'll take you home, but only if you're ready to go in ten seconds."

"Okay." Sheldon got up. "I'll take this one." He held a robot out to Stuart. "The armor is much better than on the other one. This one's is the pale blue of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber-_before_ it was digitally remastered!"

"Good choice," Stuart said in an appeasing tone. "Now get up and let's go."

"Okay." Sheldon began to rise to his feet, and then seemed to overbalance and fell backwards. "What the-" a comic book fell from a shelf above and hit him, then another, then another.

"Oh no," Stuart said, looking up as the shelves shook. "It's an earthquake, Sheldon, get up!" In an instant, Sheldon was on his feet, and the two men made a break for the door.

Sheldon reached it first, but as he reached for the handle the rack next to the door fell toward him. Stuart reached out and pulled him back, and the shelf crashed to the ground where he had been. The momentum caused both of them to fall backwards. Comic books, robots, belt buckles, everything was crashing down.

"The bathroom!" Stuart suddenly said.

"There's a bathroom in here?" Sheldon looked confused.

"The employee bathroom, over there!" Stuart pointed.

"That sign says employees only. I am not an employee, ergo I cannot go inside."

"Come on Sheldon!" Stuart yelled. "Nothing can hit us in there!" He pulled the door open and the two of them dashed inside. Stuart closed the door and the two of them collapsed on the shaking floor. Stuart's back was against the door, and Sheldon lay in a sprawled heap near the toilet. "Well," Stuart said. "We're not dead."

"Very true." Sheldon sat up, looking very irritated at the scrape that was on his left forearm.

"We're gonna be stuck here for a while," Stuart said.

"Obviously." Sheldon looked around the tiny bathroom. "This brings to mind the situation in the original _Star Wars_ movie when the garbage mashers were going to render the Skywalkers and Han Solo into pancakes."

"Pleasant thought, Sheldon." Stuart said.

"I was trying to make conversation. Would you rather we continue our discussion from your first date with Penny?"

"Not really," Stuart said.

"Okay." Sheldon said, twiddling his thumbs. He really wanted to discuss that garbage masher...how to convince Stuart of that? An idea came to him…well, why not? It worked on Penny.

He sat up. "So I was thinking the other day-_what _is_ Physics...?_"

"About the garbage masher..." Stuart interrupted...

**Next we discover where Raj and Howard are…these chapters will get longer, I hope, once the setting is established.**


	3. Raj and Howard: IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!

**Here's the antics of Raj and his best buddy Howard. Oh, and sorry to you all who haven't seen/aren't interested in Star Wars, there's going to be a lot of references in this fic.**

"Do you have any Zabraks?"

"Go droid."

"God dammit." Raj picked a card and frowned. "Do you have any-"

"It's my turn!" Howard looked through his cards. "Do you have any Magna Guards?" Raj frowned and handed two over. "Why thank you," Howard said, grinning. "I guess this means I win."

"Oh, I say rematch." Raj said. He picked up the cards and began to shuffle. "This means WAR!"

"_WAR? There'll be no roughhousing in this house!"_

"WE'RE NOT FIGHTING MA! IT'S JUST AN EXPRESSION! Dear God," He said in a lower voice.

Raj finished dealing the cards. "Can I go first?"

"You went first last time!"

"But you won!"

"Okay, let's go rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock." Raj agreed, but after four rounds of both throwing Spock, he conceded and let Howard go first. "Okay, now do you have any Princess Leias?"

"Go droid. Do you have any Rancors?"

Howard held his card out to Raj, who reached for it. He took it and paused with his arm still outstretched. "Do you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Howard was still, glancing around. Oh, the floor was…shaking? His action figures began to rattle on the shelves. One fell out an open window. "NO!" Howard crawled to the window and shut it so nothing else would fall off. As he turned away, his Halle Berry poster detached itself from above his bed and floated to the floor beside Raj, who was curled in the fetal position with his hands over his head.

"_Howard, it's an earthquake!"_

"THAT'S WHY THE HOUSE IS SHAKING MA? I HAD NO IDEA!" Howard grabbed for the Halle Berry Poster and clutched it to his chest, burying his head and crossing himself. Who cared if he was Jewish? The Sign of the Cross certainly worked when facing Kurt.

"The house is going to collapse! _We're gonna DIE_!"

Howard raised his head. "Raj. Raj!" His best friend raised his head. "What is wrong with you?" Howard shook his head. "It's just an earthquake, there's no reason to panic…" a shelf of action figures tipped over with a crash. "Oh, Lord in Heaven, we're gonna die!"

The shuddering continued and Howard didn't dare look up again, especially when he heard other crashes or an earsplitting whine that sounded a lot like metal on metal. The house wasn't _that_ old…and this quake wasn't _that_ bad…oh, who was he kidding? This was bad. He just hoped that Raj's nervous-like-a-puppy bladder wasn't going to malfunction-his mother just had the carpet cleaned.

Finally, the shaking stopped. It didn't take a doctorate to know that there'd be aftershocks, but Howard knew that the worst was probably over. He and Raj sat up.

Howard's room was in disarray. Everything was tipped over-even his mattress had slid off the bed. Creeping to the window, they glanced outside, and then turned to one another in shock. Trees and telephone lines were down. The cottage across the street had completely collapsed. In all honesty, the best word to describe the situation was _disaster._ "Holy crap."

"Yeah." They looked wide eyed at each other.

"_Howard, are you okay?"_

"WE'RE FINE, MA!"

"_Then get down here and get this bookcase off your mother!"_

"This is bad," Howard told Raj. He went to the door. He got it open, but was met with a heavy piece of the ceiling. It was large and blocking his way out. "This is really, _reall_y bad."

**Now the aftermath. Next chapter will either go back to Leonard and Penny or Sheldon and Stuart-let me know in reviews which one you want to see first, if you have a preference!**


	4. Leonard and Penny: Trapped, but alive

**So most of you wanted me to revisit Leonard and Penny, so here it is. Not much will be accomplished in this chapter, really, but we're getting past the event itself and into the consequences.**

Leonard was surprised that he was still alive to feel the shaking cease. It had lasted a long time, and with all the dust and debris that had rained down on him, he really expected to either suffocate or be killed by falling rubble. When the building stopped rocking and he stopped being pummeled in the back by pieces of his own home, he was amazed to find himself breathing and able to sit up.

His eyes widened as he took in the damage. His apartment was cluttered with bricks, pieces of bricks, pieces of the ceiling, dust, and random objects from the apartment upstairs. The fridge and the bookcases had fallen over. Sheldon's telescope had shattered. The kitchen area had caved in, filled with rubble from the apartment upstairs, and the entrance to the hallway was blocked by 5A's stove and cabinets. He was afraid to look up, but he did anyway. "Oh, my God!"

Penny sat up. "What?" She followed Leonard's gaze and gasped.

There were numerous gaps in what was 4A's ceiling and 5A's floor. Through one just behind the couch Leonard and Penny could see that the apartment above them had completely caved in. When they lowered their shocked gazes to each other's faces, both jaws were hanging.

"Oh, my gosh…" Penny had tears in her eyes. "Leonard that…" He slid his arm around her and she buried her head on his shoulder. "Oh my _God…_"

"I think it's safe to say that we're _really_ lucky," he said, stroking her shoulder absentmindedly. Then he looked down at her. "Penny, you're hurt!" Her shoulder was gashed were a piece of rubble had hit it.

She put her hand over the wound. "Um…that's kinda the least of our worries at the moment." She gestured around the apartment. "Door to hallway is blocked. Door to other hallway is blocked. Kitchen is caved in. Everywhere that's still is full of sharp, heavy pieces of the apartment above us…you're right. It's _totally_ time to freak over a cut shoulder."

"Just stay here. I'll try to get to the first aid kit in the bathroom." Leonard got up and tiptoed around/over the debris until he got to the hallway leading to the bathroom and bedroom. He reached for the top cabinet and tried to ease it off of the rest of the pile. It fell with a crash, and the room trembled. "Whoa." Was that an aftershock horrifyingly timed, or did the mere falling of the cabinet cause the room to quiver? Looking back up, Leonard saw a large crack in the ceiling that wasn't there before. Looking back at the stove and cabinet blocking the way to the bathroom, Leonard judged the height. He could climb it-he certainly could climb it. He might even be able to jump over it, but he could see that either of those actions could have horrific consequences. He glanced back at Penny, who was curled up on the couch with a hand on her head. He wasn't going to be stupid and get them both killed.

"I can't get to the bathroom. That ceiling is just hanging in there," Leonard said, coming over and sitting next to her on the couch. "Any sudden movements could cause it to come crashing down." Penny didn't say anything; she just nodded. Leonard looked up at the ceiling again. More cracks were forming. The building was trembling its way through another aftershock. He felt Penny's hand slide into his as she scooted closer.

A sharp crash in front of them caused them both to jump and Penny to let out a shriek. A sofa fell into the apartment, landing just shy of the coffee table and bringing another piece of the ceiling with it. It landed in a cloud of dust, and both Leonard and Penny buried their faces in an attempt to protect their eyes.

"That was close," he said when the dust cleared.

"Yeah." She surveyed the apartment. "I can only imagine what the city looks like." She got up and crept to the window. Leonard followed her, glancing up at the ceiling with every step. "Penny!" He said in a low voice. "Stop."

"Why?" Leonard pointed at the floor near the window. "Does that look safe?" She jumped back. "Easy!" He warned. Slowly, she crept back to him. "We have to be _very_ careful," he said warningly. "We need to not move around or do anything sudden." He took her elbow and slowly led her back to the couch. "Help will come, Penny. We just have to wait for it."

"Leonard, there's a whole city in need of help. They're not going to be prioritizing in favor of this little apartment building."

"Hey." He silenced her. "Think positive. We're alive, Penny, and…" he paused. "As much as I hate to say it…I'm sure that's more than I can say about a lot of people."

Penny had been looking at her feet, but now slowly raised her head to look Leonard in the eye. "Leonard," she said in a high voice.

"What's the matter?" He touched her arm.

"You said that a lot of people could be dead." A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye. "Sheldon, Raj and Howard…what about them?"

Leonard visibly paled.

**Next we'll revisit Sheldon in the bathroom. That sounded better in my head.**


	5. Sheldon and Stuart: Escape

**Okay, as promised, here is Sheldon in the bathroom! Hehe**

Stuart felt someone poking his shoulder. Once, twice, three times. "Stuart?" Then the poking came again. One, two, three. "Stuart?" Stuart opened his eyes. Sheldon Knelt next to him. Poke, poke, poke. "Stuart?"

"I'm awake, Sheldon."

Sheldon smiled. "Oh, good!"

"What do you want?"

"The earthquake has stopped."

Stuart was fully awake now. "Oh!" He rose to his feet, surprised at how cramped his legs and neck felt. How long had they been in the bathroom? And how had he managed to fall asleep? "What time is it?"

Sheldon frowned. "I don't know. My watch was linked to the atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado, but it has stopped working. I know for a fact that you keep your cell phone in your back pocket, but I've learned that it would be considered 'creepy' if I had tried to obtain it on my own."

Stuart just looked at him for a moment. "Uh…yeah, it kinda would be." He took out his phone. "Yikes!" Sheldon started laughing, and Stuart looked up. "What's that all about?"

Sheldon shook his head. "You've never met Leonard's mother, have you?"

"Uh…no." He looked at the screen of his cell and shook his head. "It's seven-thirty. We've been in this little bathroom twenty _plus_ hours."

"Eh…" Sheldon wrinkled his nose.

"Were there any aftershocks while I was sleeping?" Stuart said, scratching his head.

"Four." Sheldon cocked his head. "I may be mistaken, but isn't this a good time to…you know…try the door?"

"You didn't do that while I was sleeping?" it was Stuart's turn to cock his head. He had assumed that they were trapped.

"You were leaning against it." Sheldon looked as if he could not believe anyone could be that stupid.

Stuart glared at him for a moment before realizing that he still hadn't actually tried the door. Preparing himself for the worst, he turned the knob and threw himself into the door. It flew open so fast he catapulted himself into the messy store and landed on a pile of Hellboy magazines.

Sheldon stood calmly in the threshold. "You didn't consider the possibility that we weren't going to be trapped?"

Stuart tried to think of a smart Alec response, but his mind failed him. "…no."

Sheldon delicately stepped over the fallen shelves as Stuart rose to his feet. He began clearing space to the door. "Sheldon, help me with all this stuff. I don't care!" He snapped when Sheldon pointed out the scrape on his arm. "Look at what a mess this place is," Stuart said, seemingly to himself. "You can't even get to the door…so dangerous…what if the store caught on fire? What would we do?"

Sheldon leaped into action, and within twenty minutes they had cleared the door. Stuart grinned and turned the handle. Nothing. "What the…?"

"It seems that the doorframe has been damaged in the earthquake and has bent so the door cannot be opened."

"So what do you suggest we do, Braniac?" Stuart said sarcastically. Sheldon motioned to the window. "Oh yeah, I guess that's kind of obvious…" Stuart said sheepishly. He picked up an empty rack and thrust it through the window. After bashing a robot case around the hole, there was a big enough gap for both men to get through. Standing on the street, all that was around them were frantic people, destroyed buildings, and rescue squads all over the place.

"Oh, good, we can get help for my scrape."

"Sheldon, the scrape is the least of their worries. There are people trapped!" Stuart motioned up the street. "Howard lives less than a mile from here. Let's go there. We can make sure he's okay, and we can get help for your scrape. Don't bother people who are saving lives."

Sheldon sighed. "Fine. Let's go."

**Next chapter will be Raj/Howard focused+POV, but Sheldon and Stuart will probably be in the end of it. I don't know when I'll be able to update next-I go to my grandparents the 26****th**** thru the 30****th****, so unless I can get my hands on a computer (and I HIGHLY doubt it) it may be 2010 before I can post again, but I will be writing while I'm gone!**

**Happy Holidays! (And a Merry Newtonmass!)**


	6. Sheldon, Stuart, Raj, Howard: Reunited

**Okay, I'm home! Here's the next chapter, obviously. I'm not very good at writing Raj/Howard, I'm afraid, but I did my best.**

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," Howard said. "We make a rope out of these bed sheets; I lower myself out the window, free my mother, and then get a ladder so you can climb down."

It was nearly a day since the first tremors had disturbed Southern California, and it seemed as if the aftershocks had stopped. Once it appeared to be safe again, Raj and Howard tried discussing how they'd get out of the house, but they always went off topic and began discussing technology that would be helpful to them but since this wasn't science fiction, it was impractical. Finally, hunger and thirst (Mrs. Wolowitz had searched her Tushie-Face's room the day before the earthquake and found his food stash) had persuaded them to seek a more realistic solution. Casa Wolowitz was really not in bad shape, and it wouldn't risk their lives to try and get out of there, Howard had reasoned.

"Why do you get to go first?" Raj complained. "You always make all the decisions!"

"Do you want to be dangling from a second story window with little ol' me the only thing preventing you from hitting my mother's flowerbed?"

Raj thought about it. "Prickly landing."

Howard nodded. "And you don't want to face my mother after landing on her roses, do you? You wouldn't even be able to defend yourself."

Raj shook his head. "You've totally convinced me, dude."

"Good." Howard pulled his sheets off his bed and began to tie them together.

Raj helped him. "Have you tried calling Leonard or Sheldon?" Raj asked as they checked the knots.

"Phones won't be working," Howard said, dragging one end of the rope to the window and throwing it outside. "The city's a mess, I'm sure. No cell phone towers."

"_Howard, stop dilly-dallying!"_

"WE'RE NOT…I'M COMING MA!"

Howard took hold of the rope, and Raj tied his end to the bedpost as an extra precaution. "Okay, go play superhero," Raj said sarcastically as his friend disappeared over the ledge.

When Wolowitz had gone, Raj sat on the bed and pulled out his phone. He dialed Leonard. There was a pause, and then a beep. He tried again and got the same result. Frowning, he tried Sheldon. Pause…then beep, just like Leonard. Now that he knew there was no way to contact his friends, he grew worried about them. He wondered if Sheldon was at his home or the comic book store, and that thought caused him to wonder if those locations had met the fate of Casa Wolowitz…or the cottage across the street.

Raj jumped when something banged against the window. It was the ladder, his escape. "Come on, Raj!" He heard Wolowitz yell.

When he was safely on the ground, Raj turned to Howard. "How is your mother?"

"Cranky, and ticked off that she's bruised."

"So perfectly fine."

"Yep." Howard adjusted his belt buckle. "We should probably head to the comic book store and look for Sheldon there before going to the apartment."

"Could we check on my place, too?" Raj asked. "My mummy and papa will be worried about me."

"Howard! Raj!"

They turned. Coming up the road were Sheldon and Stuart, tired and dirty but otherwise not badly hurt. "You guys okay?" Stuart asked as they got closer.

"We've certainly been better," Howard remarked.

Stuart nodded. "Us too. We spent a day in the store's bathroom."

"Were there any girls in the bathroom?" Howard asked.

Stuart glanced at Sheldon. "I'm not sure." The joke was, of course, lost on the physicist. He was too busy ranting about his scraped arm.

"Shall I kiss it and make it better?" Howard said sarcastically when Sheldon held out his arm for inspection. Sheldon snatched the arm back, holding it to his chest protectively. Howard rolled his eyes and turned to Stuart. "Have you heard from Leonard or Penny?"

"No. I tried calling but it didn't go through."

"Please forgive me for interrupting, but Howard, do you happen to have access to professional antibacterial medication?" Sheldon motioned to his arm. "I am currently at the mercy of any old monera searching for a place to live."

Howard sighed. "Okay, I have a plan."

Sheldon sighed pathetically. "We're not gonna make it." Stuart turned to offer a high five, then realized that the Wackadoodle was not making a joke.

"Oh, boy, when this is over, am I gonna need a stripper," Howard said under his breath. "Okay," he continued in a normal voice. "Raj, go get my motorcycle. There's a first aid kit in there for Sheldon. Then I'll drive you to the Raj Mahal." He looked at Stuart. "Now you and Sheldon-and I know, Stuart, that you've spent a day with him already, but I promise you'll be paid overtime-head for Leonard and Penny's building. We'll meet you there after Raj's parents are assured of his status among the living."

"How are the roads?" Raj asked when he brought the bike over.

"Bad." Stuart shook his head. "Good luck getting anywhere with that thing."

"Don't underestimate me," said Howard slapping the bike lightly. It fell over, just missing Raj's foot.

"That's what he says to all of his dates," Raj told Stuart. "Coming from Wolowitz, they are a perfected recipe for disaster!"

Howard glared at him. "Shut up and let's get going."

After assuring the Koothrapali's via webcam that Raj was alive, well, and not drunk, he hopped on the bike behind Howard and they once again negotiated the rubble-cluttered streets. It _was_ bad. Rescue trucks everywhere; people being wheeled out on stretchers-or in body bags. Howard almost tipped the bike over twice for gawking at the wreckage. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this," he said. He was expecting Raj to come back with something like "now _that_ sounds like something a date of yours would say!" but he didn't. He was just as shocked. Howard came up a hill, and the apartment buildings came into view. The one they sought would be visible just around the corner, which Howard made easily. As they got closer, their jaws dropped.

**So, I guess it's obvious who's in the worst shape right now-we'll see more of them next chapter.**


	7. Leonard and Penny: Talk to me

**Thanks to LenaGuffi for your chapter four review suggesting what ultimately happens at the end of this chapter.**

"Leonard? Talk to me."

It was more than eight hours since the fourth aftershock, and still no help had come. They had tried again to free themselves, but the instability of the building had severely limited what they could do. After nearly a half hour of careful maneuvers, Leonard had managed to get to the bathroom door. He had been unable to get inside, but had located a small first-aid kit in Sheldon's room. When he'd re-entered the living area, he'd found Penny on the ground, sobbing against the door. "Penny," he'd said, kneeling next to her. She'd allowed him to rub the medicine into her shoulder and lead her back to the couch.

"We're not going to make it, Leonard," she'd said. "It's hopeless." The look on her face when she spoke those words…Leonard was terrified that she had given up. He had sunk into Sheldon's spot and she'd curled up on the cushion next to him. Now she was lying on her back, her head in his lap. She was dehydrated-more so than he from all the crying, and her raspy request was the first time he'd heard her voice in an hour and a half.

"About what?" He asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I don't care. Just talk to me." Her hands were resting on her stomach, all ten of her fingers curled around his right hand.

"I…" he sighed. "I don't know how."

She managed a smile. "You don't know how to talk to me?"

"I can't talk about nothing. I need a topic, something to go on. If left to my own devices I start rambling about my life or the situation I'm in. Like now, I'd start talking about how bad this situation is, and how we're young and have our lives ahead of us and we are trapped in this building alone and afraid and then I might start worrying about how you're hurt and you need water and food and I'm hungry and thirsty too but you need it worse and I want to help you but I can't and then I'd just feel even more terrible and-"

Penny had untangled one of her hands and put it to his lips. "I get the picture."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean that. Sure, we're in, as Anakin Skywalker would put it, a bit of a situation, but hey, it can't be as bad as it seems…" He knew his attempt to sugarcoat their predicament was lame and transparent, but he wasn't expecting the serious expression that came over Penny's face. Something was bothering her-something other than the obvious. But he didn't know what.

"Leonard?" She looked up at him. "We may not make it out. You know that, and I know that."

He had never felt so low. "Yes." He squeezed her hand. "But that doesn't mean we have to think about it."

Penny sighed. "Leonard, you don't like to face the music, do you? We're in trouble." Her voice was quivering and full of sadness and Leonard tried to get her to quiet down and relax. But his attempts only seemed to stress her out. "Will you let me talk? Please? I hope to God this isn't the end, but if it is I need to say something." He sighed, figuring it would be best to just let her talk.

"I've seen it happen on television, and in books. Tragic stories of people torn from each other by death…or by anything. People are wondering…" she had to stop to prevent her voice from breaking. Sitting up, she gripped Leonard's hand in both of hers. "What might have been, and they'll never know. Or they'll think things would have all gone to hell, when in reality it would have been all right."

She looked down at their entwined hands, a tear shaking loose from her eye and rolling down her cheek. "Our chances get slimmer by the minute. I let you go to the North Pole not telling you I didn't want you to go. I don't want to die and leave you not knowing how I feel about you." Her voice cracked, and she looked up at him. "I love you_, _Leonard Hofstadter_._ No matter what happens."

Leonard didn't consciously make the decision to kiss her. He just did. He let go of her hand and held her to him by the waist. She cradled his jaw in her hands as she tenderly held his mouth to hers. "Penny," he said, pulling back slightly. "Are you sure this isn't…I mean, we're in a bad situation and-"

She slid her hands down to his neck. "No, Leonard." He slipped his arm around her when she leaned against him. She was crying. "This is real, I promise. It's been real. But…with Kurt…it was wrong, and I needed to be sure…now we're faced with death, and the thing that scared me the most was you not knowing how I feel. If that isn't real, then what is?"

He held her close and kissed her head. "This feel right to you?" he asked her.

She clung to him. "God yes."

"Good." He rested his head on hers. "Because I love you, too."

**In my other story with a L/P "I love you," Leonard said it first, so in this one Penny did. I wasn't intended for this story to have a L/P storyline like this, so for any P/S shippers who are reading this, sorry! I didn't know it was going this way until yesterday.**

**There will probably be two or three chapters left-I need to do some more research…and I go back to school on Monday…ugh!**


	8. Sheldon, Stuart, Raj, Howard: Persuade

**Sorry it's been a few days since I've updated. I really hate it when I can't figure out an ending to a chapter, which unfortunately is plaguing me in all three of my unfinished ones…ugh. The other two are the reasons I wrote a two sentence summary for each of these chapters, and planned the basic storyline out BEFORE I began publishing.**

The top floors of the apartment had caved in. From the fourth floor up the building was a collapsed, condensed pile of rubble. It looked like a big hand had come and punched the top in. The building's strong base was still standing, but it seemed as if the top half was perched precariously on the sturdier bottom. Stuart and Sheldon were standing under a tree, looking up at the mess. Stuart had his phone to his ear, and after a moment he pulled it away, looking worried. Neither Raj nor Howard saw this, though. They were too busy gaping.

"Is that even possible?" Raj wanted to know.

"It's unlikely," Howard said as they parked the bike near a rescue truck.

"It's next to impossible," Stuart said, coming over to them. Howard and Raj had been gaping at the building and hadn't even noticed him and Sheldon.

"What is next to impossible is simply improbable," Sheldon said, "which is the sole reason I'm not totally losing my mind over the fact that _my Leonard Nimoy _DNA_ is in there_!"

"Your Leonard _roommate_ could be in there," Howard reminded him. "Are you not thinking of that?"

"I think about everything," Sheldon said. "I recognize, analyze, and question all things in the universe! I challenge ideas that are accepted by all human beings! I am 90% like Socrates!"

Stuart raised his eyebrow. "What's the other ten percent?"

"Hemlock," Sheldon informed him matter-of-factly.

Raj, Howard, and Stuart glanced at each other. "It won't be that way for long," Howard said ominously.

"Excuse me, hello!" Raj said. "_Friends in pile of rubble_-are we going to do anything? Aside from finding Sheldon guilty of some crime and making him drink poison, I mean?"

"Well we could…oh, other than that? Huh. I'm stumped," Howard said. Then he looked ashamed. This was no time to be making fun of friends. Teasing Leonard, Penny, or Leonard _and_ Penny, well, that had been a favorite pastime of his. Now he may never get to do it again. "What _do_ we do?"

"There's nothing _to_ do," said a man who was loading equipment into the rescue van. "That building is deserted."

"It can't be deserted," said Howard. He looked at the man's tag and added-"Jake. That's our friend's home."

"There's no one inside," said Jake. "If anyone's in there, they can't be alive.

"My friend," Howard said slowly. "He was with his girlfriend…we left him that night…he has to be inside. What if he's alive? You're going to just leave him in there?"

"How can you be sure there's no one?" Stuart asked.

"Son, there's no one there. We checked the first two floors."

"_I am not your son_!" He snapped, pushing Jake against the rescue vehicle. "And what if they are alive? You didn't answer Howard's question. They live on the fourth floor. You can see that part of it isn't caved in. What if they are there?"

"Okay now," Howard said. He was never comfortable with arguments, and at least the ones with girls he had some experience with. Okay, a lot of experience. Negative experience. "Let's…compromise. Maybe they got out after the quake and went the long way to my house. They could be there now. Raj and I will go and check. If we come back without them…" he looked Jake in the eye. "You are _going_ to look for them."

"I can't authorize that."

"Listen," Howard said, an idea taking shape in his head. "This man here-" he gestured to Sheldon. "He's crazy. His best friend is in there. You do not want to deal with him, and boy, will you have to if you don't go looking for our friends, because _we will_ leave him with you."

Sheldon had picked up on Howard's using deceit, and he felt very uncomfortable about being included, but hey, this seemed to be one of those _take one for the team_ scenarios... Dang, why did they always do this to him? He couldn't keep a secret…whenever he tried to do so he always ended up…

Jake looked at Sheldon's twitching face and an alarmed expression came over his face. "Uh…I gotta go." He backed away.

Sheldon turned to Wolowitz. "Did I do good?"

Howard was about to make a smart retort, but thought better of it. "Yeah…you did good."

"I'm glad," Sheldon said. "Buddy."

**

* * *

**

"MA? ARE LEONARD AND PENNY HERE?"

"_What am I running here, a Holiday Inn?"_

Howard turned to Raj. "That's a negatory."

**

* * *

**

"They haven't been there," Raj said when they returned to the apartment building.

"Which means…." Stuart looked at the building. "They're probably in there."

"_Leonard! Penny!"_ Howard shouted.

"They can't hear you, Howard," Sheldon said. "The combined decibel levels of the workers and vans far outdo your pathetic cries."

"This is bad," Stuart said to no one in particular.

"Oh, come on, Stuart," Sheldon said. "Not all bad situations end up as horrifying as you may think-consider _Star Wars, Episode Six: Return of the Jedi_. Princess Leia is shot, and Han Solo is trying to help her, but the storm troopers show up. Clearly they, the enemy, think that they will win. They probably think that Han Solo telling Princess Leia 'I love you' was last words spoken by a man who didn't want to die and never tell her all that nonsense. But the princess replies 'I know,' and shoots the storm troopers. Now, of course, that exchange created a running joke from _The Empire Strikes Back_, where the 'I love you,' 'I know,' happens between Leia and Han, respectively, but what more creative minds-me-could pick up on was the use of humor preceding a seemingly impossible situation turning out to be simply improbable." He looked at his three friends, who were all looking at him with blank stares. "I know none of you have brain power that even remotely compares to that of myself, but surely you can remember that scene!"

"No, we remember…" Howard said. "We just can't believe _that _is what you think of at a time like this! Remember that Luke Skywalker thought he'd turn Vader back to the good side, but he had to endure a lot of pain-almost death-before that happened. Are you saying, in your little recap, that if Leonard and Penny are going to survive, they must endure nearly life ending pain?"

"Sounds like it to me," Raj said.

"Yeah, way to think, Sheldon," Stuart said, shaking his head.

Sheldon looked confused. "I was just talking about _Return of the Jedi_," he said. "The guy that's sitting in that emergency vehicle has a _Star Wars_ hat. What are _you guys _talking about?"

"Ugh." Stuart spotted Jake and called to him. "They haven't been to our friend's house. Now, get your guys to check the fourth floor. Please."

"Okay, now I'm willing to do that, and believe me, I believe that your friends might be in there, and I understand how you guys must feel. But we cannot sacrifice the lives of the workers, either. I need to talk to my boss on how the safest way to proceed is. You said it's your best friends in there?" He asked Sheldon.

"Yes. My roommate Leonard, my chauffer, and my helper with laundry. His girlfriend, Penny, is actually my best friend. She brought me the DNA of Leonard Nimoy, and she buys me comic books whenever I get upset when she and Leonard fight." Jake just looked at him. "I'm sorry," Sheldon said. "But when do you put this 'talk to my boss on the safest way to proceed' plan into action?"

Jake glared at Sheldon. "Believe it or not, he's being polite," Howard said. "But I would talk to that boss guy…like now…before he starts twitching again."

**Next chapter or the one after will be the last. And yes, for those of you who read The Third Party Accumulation, I know that sounds familiar, but this time I've got it planned out, so I CAN promise one or two more! :)**

**Sorry if this one kinda sucked...I am SO tired!**


	9. Everyone: Finally!

**Okay, here's the last chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and thanks if you kept on reading it even if you didn't review! I'm not going to individually thank reviewers, since I accidentally missed someone on TTPA, and I felt SOOO bad about that!**

**Oh, one more thing, Amtrak12-a part of this was added in for you! You'll know what part…**

"I just wish we could see what's going on out there!"

Leonard paced in front of the couch. Nearly three hours ago they had heard sounds of people, equipment, and machines…_rescue squads_! The presence of help had stirred up aggravation in both of them. They had been trapped here for days-and without the earthquake kit-and now they could hear the rescue teams…but they couldn't get their attention. When they had tried to get to the window after the quake it had shaken dangerously under their weight, and they were too dehydrated and hoarse in the throat to be able to yell. It seemed to both of them impossible to be able to attract attention to themselves.

Penny was still lying on the couch, and she raised her head to look at Leonard. "You're wasting your energy."

"If only we could get to that window…" he said.

She pulled herself into a sitting position. Her shirt was still inside-out, but it wasn't backwards anymore; the tag had made her chin itch. "Okay," she said in her raspy voice. She sounded like she had laryngitis. "Now, I'm not a scientist, but when the floor-"

"Wait," Leonard said, coming to the end of the couch and sinking to his knees to she could talk more quietly. "Okay, go ahead."

"When the floor was unstable, we were both standing on it."

He looked at her, eyes wide, the classic "light bulb-goes-on" look on his face. "Penny, that's a really good point!" The floor had held, shakily, true, but it _had_ held them both. In all probability, unless it had been weakened further since, it would hold just one of them no problem. Leonard looked over at the window. "Here goes nothing," he said rising hesitantly. No matter what the odds were, he was still nervous about going on that cracked floor. As Sheldon would say were he in this situation, a next to impossible situation was simply improbable, and it certainly wasn't next to impossible that the floor would hold. He heaved a nervous sigh.

Penny was looking at him. "I'll do it," she said. "I'm lighter."

"No." That was a command, and Penny recognized the authority in Leonard's voice. "Leonard, this isn't like a video game. We can't hit 'second life' here. This is all we have."

"Which is why I am doing it," Leonard said. "My mother told me to take care of you."

"You don't need to prove yourself to me."

Leonard knew that, but he still didn't give her a chance to get up. He simply walked toward the window. He could see, clearly, where the floor lost most of the stability. There were little cracks everywhere. There were even a few small holes in the ground-tiny, foreshadowing gaps. He turned. Penny was watching him. "I love you," he blurted.

"I know."

He turned back toward the window, and then turned back around to look curiously at her. A _Star Wars _reference? She grinned at his double take, obviously pleased with herself. "When I came here, I was but a learner. Now _I_ am the master."

"Nerd," he joked. Turning, he kept on walking. The floor was still questionable at best, but at least it was holding his weight.

On the couch, Penny watched him step carefully around the cracks. "Please be careful," she begged, the days old tension in her body intensifying as she watched him. God, what did they do to deserve this? Even if they got out, they had no idea what happened to Sheldon, Raj, and Howard. They'd become such a big part of her life…what would she do if they hadn't made it? Heck, there wasn't even any guarantee that she and Leonard would make it, as close as help now was. She was tired; her eyes drifted shut as she thought.

She heard Leonard yelp, and terrified he'd fallen through, Penny's head shot up and her eyes flew open. No, he hadn't fallen into 3A; he had merely stepped back from the window, just outside of which was a hovering white thing. A spaceship? Penny was confused. What would a spaceship be doing in California? Was she hallucinating?

Leonard went to the window and leaned out. "Hello! We're here!"

Penny stood, and nearly laughed. The 'spaceship' was really from one of those fancy fire trucks-the big steel arm with a basket used for reaching tall buildings. It was very close to the building, it appeared.

The man leaned over the basket to see in the window. "Well, they were right! Are you guys okay?"

"We've both got superficial cuts and bruises," Leonard said. "She really needs some fluids. I mean, we both do, but…" he trailed off. This was no time for rambling. "You are here to help, right?"

"Yes. I've been threatened," he said with a smile.

Leonard frowned. "I don't know what that means."

"It doesn't matter," Jake said. "Can the both of you walk okay? If not, I'll go back down and send a medic up here, but if you can we could take a little ride right now."

Penny saw Leonard lean out the window to judge the gap. "It's about a foot, give or take an inch. Can you do it?"

She nodded. "I think so. I made it from building to building when you had that stupid time machine, remember? I leap tall buildings in a single bound."

"Yeah, that's you all right," he said sarcastically, smiling. "Now come to me slowly, Penny." He eased out over the windowsill and eased into the basket beside Jake. Watching the floor carefully, Penny crept to the window. Jake reached a hand out to help her over the sill, and she tumbled into the basket. Jake and Leonard eased her into a sitting position on the floor. Leonard sank down next to her.

The basket began its descent. "Ferris wheel," Penny murmured, shivering. It was a cool, breezy afternoon, and she was only wearing her shorts and inside out T-shirt. Leonard wished he had his jacket, but he, too, was only wearing pants and a tee, what he had managed to pull on in their rush out of the bedroom that night.

"Ferris wheel?" He asked in confusion.

Penny appeared just as surprised that she had said that. "Sorry. I had a bit of a moment."

Jake had been speaking quietly into a walkie talkie, and now he glanced down at them. "We'll have medics waiting for you on the ground. I was only supposed to go up here to check and see if I could see anyone inside the apartment; they weren't expecting me to come down with you guys. We expected you to be in worse shape than you are, so we're prepared for anything."

"You were looking specifically for us?" Leonard asked, his arm around Penny in an effort to keep her warm. While waiting for an answer, he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her. She slipped it in the pocket of her shorts without comment.

"Yes. I was told to, by some very…persuasive…friends of yours."

"They're alive? Bernadette and Stuart, too?" Penny yelped, jumping up. She slipped and nearly toppled over.

"Take it easy," Jake said. "We're almost on the ground."

* * *

Once they reached it, medics came with stretchers for them, and they were separated as separate people came to check them over.

Leonard lay on the stretcher by the medic's truck while they checked his pulse and breathing and attached an I.V. "You are one lucky guy," said the lady checking his blood pressure. "Your friends were hell-bent on finding you."

"Are they here?" Leonard asked, sitting up.

"Lay back," she warned him. "You'll lose your I.V."

"Leonard! You're alive!"

Leonard turned his head and saw Raj and Howard rushing toward him. Howard reached the stretcher first and leaned over to give Leonard an impulsive and awkward hug. "It's a miracle!"

While Leonard got taken one way, Penny was taken another, to a different ambulance and different nurses taking care of her. She was _so_ tired. She barely noticed the prick when the I.V. was inserted into a vein on her arm.

"Okay," said one of the nurses, "what is your name?"

"Penny."

"Okay, Penny, I'm Marcy, could you stay awake for me, please?"

"I sure as hell _can_," she muttered. "I don't particularly want to."

"Well, she'll certainly be fine," said another voice. This one was male and…recognizable. Penny cracked open her eyes. "Stuart?" She said quietly.

He came into view. "Hi, Penny," he said.

"_Stuart!_" She said happily. "You're okay…" She sat up and held her arms out, and he bent over to give her a quick hug.

"I've been okay," he said. "Sheldon and I were trapped in the bathroom of the store. It was really easy for us to get out."

"Where's Sheldon?" She asked. Of course she was glad to see Stuart alive and well, but Sheldon was her best friend. It helped hearing from someone she knew that he was okay, but she still wanted to see him to believe it.

"Sheldon!" Stuart called over his shoulder. "Jake does not care which Green Lantern is vulnerable to yellow. Come see Penny."

Sheldon soon appeared in her line of vision, and he looked down at her. "Hello." Glancing at the I.V., he continued. "You appear to be dehydrated."

"It certainly appears that way," she agreed. "Raj and Howard…where are they?"

"With Leonard," Stuart said. "They're fine. We're all fine."

"Oh, thank God," she said. Yeah, Jake had said as much, but it was so much better hearing it from her friends-Jake didn't seem like the most reliable guy around. Penny was so tired and relieved she began to cry. For the past few days her life had been nothing but anxiety and worry for her life and for Leonard's. Whenever she tried to think about something else, she always thought about how they had no idea if their friends had made it. now that Sheldon, her best friend, and Stuart stood in front of her, unharmed and assuring her Raj and Howard were alive…"thank God," she repeated.

Sheldon hesitantly reached out and patted her shoulder. "There there."

She started laughing through her tears. "I'm not _sad_, Sheldon," she said.

"Oh." He frowned. "Then why are you crying?" He grinned at her. "We yelled at them and got them to find you guys. We used trickery and deceit! You should be happy!"

"Girls sometimes cry when they are happy," Stuart said. "Like Leonard told me you were just about crying when Penny gave you that napkin."

"Are you implying that I am female?"

Penny was still laughing. "No, no, he's not. Right, Stuart?" Stuart shrugged.

"That is the second time in two days!" Sheldon protested.

"You picked up on that, huh?" Stuart asked.

"Wolowitz told me about your little implication at his house."

"I don't even want to know," Penny said, and then remembered something. "Oh, Sheldon, Leonard was in your room getting a medicine kit and-"

"He went in my room?"

"Yeah and he-"

"People_ don't go_ in my room!" He began to twitch.

"Even when it results in him thinking of getting your Leonard Nimoy napkin?"

"_People don't_…what? My DNA? He has it?"

"Nope," Penny said, slipping her hand into her shorts pocket to get it. "He gave it to me to give to you. Again."

Sheldon was very happy about this.

* * *

"So what are we going to do?" Howard asked. He was sitting on a stool in the hospital room. Raj sat on the other, both stools in between the beds that Leonard and Penny rested on. Sheldon, after having found gum stuck to the leg of one of the seats, was standing a good three feet in front of them. Stuart was asleep in a chair in the corner.

"What do you mean?" Leonard asked. "There's nothing to do in here…and all the video games were destroyed. The three of us don't even have a home anymore."

"Leonard, honey," Penny said, rolling on her side to face him. "I think that's what Howard means."

"Well, my house is okay, so I'll probably stay here…I'm sure you could stay with me for a few days…" Raj whispered to Howard. "I'm sure she'd be willing to run a Holiday Inn for just a little while, Raj."

"I'll probably go home until they can get the city cleared up…do you want to come with me?" Penny asked Leonard.

"Well, I certainly don't want to go to _my _home!" He joked, smiling at her. "My mother's crazy, and who knows where my dad is living!"

"Okay, you'll come with me, then."

Raj whispered to Howard, who glared at him. "What did he say?" Penny asked. Howard never had a chance to answer, for he was interrupted.

"Shelly!"

All heads turned in the direction of the voice. The speaker came across the room and wrapped her son in a bear hug. "Oh, Shelly, I'm so glad you're alive!"

Sheldon hesitantly reached around his mother and patted her back. "Hello, Mom."

Mary Cooper backed up and looked at him. "I drove all the way here, just to make sure my baby boy is okay." She touched his face. "I was praying for you, Snickerdoodle. Missy and your brother were, too." She then realized that the others were in the room. "Well, hi!"

Something about Mrs. Cooper, whether it be her accent or personality, always made the group smiled. They greeted her just as cheerfully as she had them.

"Excuse me," said a woman standing at the door. She raised her hand and rapped lightly on the open door. "Am I interrupting?"

"Not at all," Sheldon said. "This was a fairly pointless conversation." Mrs. Cooper gave him a look. "No, you're not interrupting," he rephrased, sighing resignedly. His mother patted his shoulder.

"Oh…okay, well," she entered the room pulling a cart. "We've salvaged some personal items from the apartment building, and we're going around seeing if anyone can identify them as their own."

"Well, that's thoughtful," Sheldon said, "but, as our incompetent rescuer has said, they only checked the first two floors. We live on the fourth floor; are you not aware of that?"

"Not aware of that?"

Sheldon sighed. "Is that your answer, or do you not understand the question?" He sighed, looking at Leonard. "It's like Alicia all over again!"

The woman looked intimidated. "Um…anyway," she said. "In the possibility that some things may have…found their way…to an area we were able to get to, would you mind looking at these things?" She pulled the cart up in between Leonard and Penny's beds, and they rolled over to look at the contents.

There wasn't much to look at. Busted up trinkets, jewelry boxes, and pictures in broken frames. Piled on top of one another. It would take a long time to go through it all, but Leonard could tell that there was nothing of his there. He noticed that Sheldon was clutching his Leonard Nimoy napkin. That one object proved that Sheldon, while irony, empathy, and sarcasm impaired, could feel gratitude.

Penny, on the other hand, was not so sure that nothing on that cart belonged to her. She reached under a pile of picture frames and pulled out a busted up box, her initials carved into the sides. The hinges were busted; the top loose. The handle on the top was in splinters. She paused a second, thinking about whether or not she wanted it. Better not, she figured. It was cheap and had no real sentimental value. She slid it back onto the cart. "You can get rid of this," she said.

"Okay, then," said the woman, beginning to straighten the cart to pull it out of the room. As she did so, Leonard saw Howard get a text and jump up. He ran out into the hall, where Bernadette stood.

Leonard was settling back onto his back when he saw Penny sit up suddenly. "Wait!" The woman with the cart froze. "Hand me that box again, please," she said. The woman complied. Leonard was confused-the box really was useless, and he knew for a fact that she'd gotten it cheap at a sale, only paying the $3 it cost because of the initials had coincidentally matched hers-probably bought it on some sort of superstition...he didn't think her belief in that stuff mattered all _that_ much to her. However, Penny looked frantic as she took it back off the cart. He watched as she opened it…and took out a red velvet pouch. She pulled the pouch open and slid out the glass square that encased the snowflake he'd brought her back from the North Pole, looking very much relieved.

Leonard's eyes widened. The box she'd kept the snowflake in was destroyed, the pouch dirty, and the glass case had a tiny chip on a corner. But for the most part it was intact, and the tiny piece of snow he'd so carefully sealed was as perfect as it had been the day he'd preserved it with a drop of polyvinyl acidal resin. Somehow, in its fall through the floors, his gift to her had survived.

"Leonard, look," Penny said softly, holding the snowflake up to the light. "You were right. It _will_ last forever."

The End

**I love Mrs. Cooper!**

**I think that aside from chapter five of The Third Party Accumulation this was my longest single chapter…I didn't want to end it with two chapters that were very similar, so I just made it long!**

**I hoped you liked this story, and for all the Sheldon/Penny fans out there, I'm sorry I had ended up with a focus on L/P's relationship here…big fan, that's all! :)**

**Anyway…review, please!**


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